Tread for shoe heels



July 21, 1931. G. L.. BENNETT TREAD FOR SHOE"HEELS Filed May ll, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l D lll llllln July 21, 1.931. G. L. BENNETT 1,815,091

TREAD FOR SHOE HEELS Filed May ll, 1929 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .fm/@7257 fafye 56727265' Patented July 21, 1931 sereni Fries GEORGE L. BENNETT, F CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO TREAD FORy S-E HEELS Application filed May 11, 1929. Serial N0. 362,394.-

My invention relates to shoe heels, and more particularly to tread pieces or wearing pieces for the bottom of shoe heels, and means for attaching the same to the heel.

i It is the principal purpose of this invention to provide means whereby the tread piece of a heel may be readily attached or removed without the requirement of any skilled work and with a minimum amount of effort.

in In shoe heels, particularly on ladies shoes having high heels, considerable difliculty is encountered inmaintaining the wearing surface on the bottom of the heel in good condition. Tread pieces which are secured thereto wear rapidly, and must be replaced several imes during the life of the shoe, or they will become so worn and turned over as to make it very uncomfortable to wear the shoe. Vith the device contemplated in this application, 29 the matter of replacing a worn tread on the bottom of a heel becomes a simple one that can be done by any person in a minute or two of time.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide a novel wearing tread which will be able to withstand a much greater amount of wear without losing its shape or becoming so thin as to be useless.

Certain forms of the invention will be de- ?0 scribed by reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the description and drawings are illustrative only, and that the invention is not to be limited except in, so far as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings,-

Fig. l is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the tread attached to a heel;

Fig. 3 is a sectional viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing a second form of the invention;

Fig. 4: is a section on the line 1-4 of Fig. 3';

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a third modiiication; y

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, but with the spread in holding position; and

' Figs. 7-'11 inclusive are illustrations of the instrument used in attaching and removing the' heel tread. A

The wearing tread piece in this device is preferably made up of a suitable, relatively hard resilient material, which may be rubber or another substance which will bedescribed more fully hereinafter. In this material I preferably imbed va yconsiderable amount of abrasive substancein the form of acicular particles such as crystals of carborundum of a coarseness yapproximating No. 4:0 grain. These particles are preferably disposed in the resilient material with their long axes directed at right angles tothe wearing surfaceof the tread. I also prefer to add a considerablelportion of these particles to the lower partof the tread, decreasing theY amount toward the top of lthetread, .thus leaving the upper portion with little or practically none of the hard particles therein. r)This serves to give greater wearing qualities to lower part of tread. Also it makes for maximum resiliency of the attaching portion thereof which is of considerable advantage.

I-Iigh grade rubber is suitable for this purpose if properly vulcanized. However, I prefer to use a high grade gelatin, which is suitably hardened and waterproofed by proper chemical treatment so as to bring it to the hardness of high kgrade sole leather. r)This material has a considerable advantage in that it adheres well to the abrasive material and has la greater firmness than rubber.

Referring now to Figs.V 1 and 2, I show a heel shell 10, which in the form shown is of metal, although it may be of any other l suitable material, and Athis heel is formed inthe bottom with a suitable recess 11 to receive the upper portion of the tread. A lining such as indicated at 12 is spot-welded or otherwise secured within the heel 10, and this lining. as shown, is corrugated to form the inwardly extending portions 13 and 14, which form restrictions in the cross-sectional size of the recess 11. The tread 15A is reduced as shown at 16 so as to fit within the recess 11, and carries a plurality of securing members, such as indicate-d at `1 7 `and 18, which, as shown, extend into, the tread so as to be firmly secured thereto, and then extend upwardly a distance sufficient to bring tlie'trad tightly up inte lie'l, beter-1.2` the l tops of the members 17 and 18 engage the bottom of the recess 11.

Owing to the resiliency of the tread 15, and, if desired, the resiliency of the members 17 and 18, these members normally, before the insertion of the tread, extend toward each other at the top, lying in substantially the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. A spreader piece 19, substantially in the shape of a Maltese cross, is provided for forcing the members 17 and 18, of which there are preferably four, outwardly into locking engagement with the member 12 ofthe shoe'heel. This spreader piece is preferably constructed of ametal which when bent tends to remain where it is bent, and has but little elasticity which tends to return it to its former position. This spreader, before the tread isattached, lies in the position shown at 2O in do-tted lines in Fig. 2 and has the laterally extending arms thereof directed upwardly and outwardly to permit the members 17 and 18 to extend toward each other and be inserted in the shoe heel.

Now, however, after the tread is inserted in place, a sharp instrument. may be extended upwardly through the slit `21 provided in the bottom of the tread to force the spreader 1S) upwardly into the full-line position shown in Fig. 2. This, of necessity, forces the members 17 and 18 outwardly to cause them to interlock with the corrugations 1,3 and 14 formed in the member 12. This firmly holds the tread in position until such time as it is desired to remove it, at which time an instrument similar to the one first used, butsomewhat longer, may be inserted through the slit 21 to bend the member 19 upwardly and to the dotted-line position shown at 22 in Fig. 2, so that the members 17 and 18 may again move toward each other and permit detachment of the tread from .the heel.

4 The form shown in Figs. 3 and 4i utilizes a member 12, which :is-secured to the shoe heel in a manner similar to that in which the member 12 is secured to the shoe heel, and this member is provided with a. shoulder at 23 which functions in connection with certain securing means which will now be described.

YThe tread is preferably provided with in the tread, which recess contains a spread-Y er element 29 having an enlarged head 30 and a. stem portion 31 of a slightly less size. Above an-d below the recess 28, the tread is provided with slits, as at 21 and 32. The member 12 is also provided with an upwardly extending recess 33, the purpose of which will now be explained.

lhen the tread is to be inserted in the heel, the member 29 is in the lowermost position in the ecess 28, so as to permit the members 24 and 25, of which there are four, to be retracted by the resiliency of the tread piece. This tread piece as shown is cut away as shown in Fig. 3 to avoid too great a resistance to the spreading action of members 24 and 25. After the tread is inserted to its fullest extent, a sharp instrument may be passed upwardly thru the slit 21 to force the member 29 up between the inner ends of the bars 2e and 25 and spread them out over the shoulders 23, and taus lock the tread in place. The member 29` is preferably forced upwardly just to the position shown in Fig. 4, after which it is retained in this'position by the inner ends of the bars 24 and 25 engaging against the reduced portion 31 of the member 29. This serves to hold the tread in position, and the conical top of the member 20 prevents this member from working farther upward after the aifixing instrument is removed. The material of the tread is, of course, distorted, as shown in Fig. 3, by the forcing of the members 2&1 and 25 outwardly.

Now, when it is desired to remove the tread, an instrument is inserted to drive the member 29 up into the recess 33, and this will permit the resiliency of the tread member to draw the members 2e and 25 back together, so that they clear the shoulder 3 and permit the tread to be removed.

ln the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the heel and tread are of substantially the same structure as in the other forms, but the member 12 tapers outwardly toward .the inner end of the recess that it forms, and the tread piece is provided with an enlarged hollow recess 35 that is adapted to receive a spreader 36, which will now be described.

This spreader is preferably made of a disk of metal, which is cut inwardly from its outer edges and then has alternating rim portions turned up and down to provide flanges for engaging against the thin outer wall 37 of the tread.

An open top is provided at 38 in the tread, thru which this disk may be inserted into the recess 35. This disk functions in the same manner as the spreader 19; that is to say, a sharp instrument is inserted after the tread is in place to remove the disk from the straight-line position shown in Fig. 5 upwardly in a manner similar to the movement of the member 19 shown in Fig. 2 thus spreading the flanges outwardly, which causes the tread to spread and wedge itself within the recess formed by the member 12. Then, when it is desired to remove the tread, the disk is distorted upwardly so that it will withdraw its` flanges and permit the tread to be removed from the heel. The material, of the treadfsurrounding the heelfispreferably slottedasshown 39 to reduce the i'esistance'to the spreading action of thedi'slr.

lnall ofthese devices, itvvill be noted thatf Jrl itt l t ftl" t' 1Vl l *i1 t ie lac nnen o ie ieao e epenos not upon proper nailing and proper alignment with thefheel, but instead, the tread is made of the proper shape so that it must align with the heel when inserted, andj tlieonly operation necessary to secure it' or remove it is the insertion ofa shorteror longer, sharp' instrument through the slit provided in the bottom instrument preferably is ofi just the properA length so that When'blade 4G' (see il) has forced the spreader into locking position, the-basell is pressed. againstthe bottom of thetread; rThe releasing instrument must be suliiciently longer than the atiixing instrument to force the spreader up far enough to release the tread. Fig. l() illustrates an instrument which is used for releasing.

It is of considerable aid to have the tivo instruments combined and also to have means whereby to support the tread for atlixing it to the heel. ln Figs. 8 and 9 show a form which embodies these features. In this form the base l2 has thereon a releasing bla-de 4-.3 and an aiiiXing blade t4 of substantially the same length as Encircling the blade lll is a coiled spring 45 which supports a cup- V shaped tread supporting member t6 that preferably has the iiange just long enough so that when the blade 44; is forced into the tread far enough to force the spreader into tread al'lixing position, the flange will rest on the base 42. y

ln the preferred form of afiixing and releasing means, however, utilize a single lenticular blade 4:7 such as described hereinbefore and shoivn attached to a base 48. This blade is long enough when used with the bas-e 48 alone to release the spreader. A spring 49 and cup-shaped member 50 are secured together and member 50 is aperturec so that the).T may be fitted on the blade 47. The flange or member 50 is long enough so that when the member 50 is pressed down into engagement with the base 48, the blade 47 extends above member 50 a suiiicient distance to force the spreader into utilizing position.

The construction of the slit in the bottom ofthe v`tread-'piece is preferably made so as to prevent any toreignmatter or.` particles from gettingvinto the interior thereof. That is to say, the 'slit is selfclosing or substantially soiv-ithfthe aifixing instrument of the shape described.' lt is evident that it will not greatly-distort the material of the tread when insortedv to Vaffix the tread,I As a result the self closing slit will thereafter close and prevent moisture etc. from eniterinev the recess byfxvay of' this slit.

Fronrthe above description, it isthought that the construction and operation of this device Will he clear to those skilled in thisart, and, having thus described my invention, what l' claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l; Ay vdevice of the `character described comprising a shoe heel having a. recess in the bottom thereof, said recess having a portion thereof above the bottom of the heell larger incross-section than another portion thereof intermediate said first-named portion and the open end of said recess, a tread piece having a portion insertible in said re-A cess, and means carried by. said insertible portion expandable into said largerport-ion of said recess to secure said tread in place.`

2. in a. device of the character described comprising a shoe heel having arecess in the bottomthereof, said recess having a. portion thereofY above the bottom of the heel larger in cross-section than another portion thereof intermediate said first-namedy portion andthe open end of said recess, a tread piece.l having a portion insertihle in said recess, andfmeans carried' by said insertible portion expandable into said larger portion of: said recess to secure said tread in place, saidi tread having means whereby to release said expandable means to permit removal the tread from the heel.

3. A device of the character described comprising a shoe heelv having a recess in the end thereof, said recess having a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread piece having attaching means normally insertible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said firstnamed means toloch the tread piece to the heel. K

4'.' A device of the character describedr comprising a shoe heel having a recess in the endthereof, said recess having. a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread piece having attaching means insertible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said first-named means to lock the tread" piece to the heel, said lastnamed means including a spreader element carriedr by said tread piece.

5. A device of the character described comprising a shoe heel having a recess in the end thereof, said recess having a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread Cil a ob

piece having attaching means insertible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said first-named means to lock the tread piece to the heel, said lastnamed means including a spreader element carried by said tread piece movable in one direction to spread said lirst-named means and upon further movementpermit its return to normal position for removal of said tread piece. l

6. A device of the character described comprising a shoe heel having a recess in the end thereof, said recess having a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread piece having attaching means insert'ible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said first-named means to lock the tread piece to the heel, said lastnamed means including a spreader element carried by said tread piece, said tread having provisions Jfor the insertion ot a tool to operate said spreader.

7. A device ot the character described comprising` a shoe heel having ecess in the end thereof, said recess having a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread piece having attaching means insertible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said first-named means to loclr the tread piece yto the heel, said. last-named means including a, spreader element in said tread piece and said tread piece having a slit in the bottom thereof for insertion ot a tool to operate said spreader.

8. A de rice of the character described comprising a shoe heel having a recess in the end thereof, said recess having a restricted portion spaced from its base, a tread piece having attaching means insertible in said recess past said restricted portion, and means for spreading said first-named means to lock the tread piece to the heel, said last-named means including` a por-tion movable toward the bottom of said recess to spread said lirst named means and movable further toward the bottom to permit retraction of said irstnamed means and removal of said tread piece.

9. A tread for shoe heels and the like comprising a body formed to t a shoe heel and having an upwardly extending` portion for insertion in a recess in the bottom of a shoe heel, said upwardly extending portion carrying means that may be spread laterally to secure the tread in a recess, and means for spreading said first-named means.

10. A tread for shoe heels and the like comprising a body formed to the contour or a shoe heel and having an upwardly eX- tending portion for insertion in a recess in the bottom of a shoe heel, said upwardly eX- tending portion carrying means that may be spread laterally lto secure the portion in the recess, and a spreader element engaging said means.

11. A tread for shoe heels andthe like corninsertion in a recess in the bottom of a shoe heel, said upwardly exten-ding portion carrying means that may be spread laterally lto secure the portion in the recess, and means `for spreading said iirst-named means, said body having a slit in the bottom of said tread for the insertion of a tool.

l2. A tread for shoe heels and the like comprising a body formed to tit a shoe heel and having an upwardly extending portion for insertion in a recess in the bottom of a shoe heel, said upwardly extending portion carrying means that may be spread laterally to secure the portion in the recess, and a spreader element engaging said means, said tread having provisions for insertion of a tool to operate said spreader element.

18. A device of the character 4described comprising a shoe heel, a tread piece, interengaging means on said heel and tread piece for holding the .same together, and means inserted into said tread piece and heel for holding .aid interengaging means against separation, said last named means being movable into said heel to permit release of said interengaging means.

ln witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this th day of April A. D. 1929.

GEORGE L. BENNETT. 

